Jim brings up valid points to a league in peril. With the goal of most MLS players being a shot at European leagues, what will MLS become. IMO, we are similar to NFL Europe (even by attendance standards). A training ground for potential stars and a place for those who aren't ready for the real world to still have fun and many a little (sometimes very little) money. With a few of MLS's stars contract up, this could be an interesting 12 months. I think MLS is still searching for their niche, and maybe a partnership with another league would serve them well.
We read the same article and came away with a different sense of the point, I think. I didn't get a sense that Dow was saying the league is in peril, he was just 'contemplating' some questions that any league needs to consider. How to balance the financial side of selling players for a quick hit versus keeping players for brand identity/quality and fan connection? In reality, the MLS is much more like the 'small market' teams of the major sports in the US. Ultimately, at contract end points, the movement of players is beyond their control - they will never be able to offer as much as the big money teams. So....doesn't it make sense for them to get something for the player before he becomes a 'free agent'? Yes. I read it that Dow was saying for players that really want to go to Europe and for whom the money is going to be big, we will see movement (Howard and Beasley). For the lower value guys, no, we shouldn't. From my vantage point, if the MLS ever wants to be credible in the soccer market, it will need to let players transfer to Europe if they want to go and the 'price is right'. Otherwise, young players will be leary of signing with the MLS. There needs to be a balance, but the good news is that we are developing the talent, getting some interest and are going to be able to realize some return on the investment. As MLS becomes more stable and more profitable, its ability to retain players will go up, not down.
The Standard-Times' Don Cuddy's latest effort: http://www.s-t.com/daily/06-03/06-04-03/c05sp123.htm "Brian Kamler has been a real presence for the team and no one deserves a good year more than the unassuming midfielder. In 1997, while playing for DC United in a pre-season "friendly" game against the U.S. Under-23 team, Kamler was punched in the head by an enraged young man-boy called Jake Dancey, resulting in a horrific injury. Subsequently, five metal plates had to be inserted into Kamler's face to repair the fracture and he missed almost the entire season. Now 31, Kamler is still playing and has been with MLS since Day One. Four goals in three games recently has led to his discovery. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy."
He plays in the MISL for the KC Comets. http://www.kccomets.net/soccercamp.htm He'll teach your kids how to punch with authority!
This, from an old St. Petersburg times article: "1998: Jake Dancy pleaded no contest to felony assault and was sentenced to five years' probation and 350 hours of community service and fined $500 for breaking Brian Kamler's face in seven places with a punch during a game between the under-20 U.S. national soccer team and Kamler's D.C. United MLS team. Last month, Kamler was awarded more than $550,000 in a civil suit against Dancy and the U.S. Soccer Federation. " From what I could tell, amazingly enough, he played in 1999 for KC (that's right, in the MLS) and is now on the KC Comets.